To What Degree Does Machiavelli Agree with Aquinas' Theory - Essay Example

number Aquinas complex on nature of law and their relationship to politics Aquinas was one of the most influentialtheologian with his philosophy and natural laws that reconstructed the aspect of sin. He was able to strike a distinction between theology and religion. According to Aquinas there is a relationship between human reason and natural laws. Natural law is more related to morals in terms of its content while human law deals with the dynamics in the world. He also noted that natural law is more general as compared to the human law. The variable nature of human laws creates loopholes that are utilized by politicians. Human laws also make it very difficult for wrong-doing to be punished in the society (Lew 113). This paper discusses how Aquinas argued that limitations within human law and Christianity contribute towards the sinful nature of man. Aquinas laws and understanding of man’s sinful nature. Sin is one of the major issues that is addressed by Aquinas in his laws and understanding of human nature. His divine law brings out the Ten Commandments and how human beings have interacted with them. The sinful nature of human beings can be understood by analyzing how politicians and non believers go against the Ten Commandments. Aquinas asserted that the fundamental command is that good should be pursued while evil should be avoided, and this is a command that is supposed to be obeyed by everyone (St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan 18). Going against the natural laws and the divine laws is therefore, what is considered to be sinful and in this case, Aquinas tried to analyze it from the original sin. Aquinas distinguished between original sin and actual sin and also uses the opportunity to address the sinful nature of humans. Actual sin in this case, arises from willingness of human beings to go against the natural or divine laws. For instance, in the Bible, there is a case, when Adam willingly went against God (St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan 19). Original sin in contrast, happens with spiritual disorderliness that humans find themselves after committing the actual sin. Adam went into spiritual disorderliness when he was cast aside because of his actual sin. According to St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan (21). human beings are sinful in nature as reflected in their way of interaction with the natural laws. In his understanding of the natural law, Aquinas underscores the sinful nature of human beings with regards to their treatment of non-believers. He argues that there is a religious persecution that is motivated by the divine laws. He terms this tendency as the most sinful perversion of human tendencies that culminate into sin. The persecution of heretics and non believers is a tendency that has been instigated by the Natural law. This is therefore, a reflection of how the it is the nature of humans to be involved in sin even in the politics human beings participate. In his position on celibacy, Aquinas uses his law of sin to address the effect of the original sin on humans. He argues that sexual urge in non-rational animals is given an attribute of law(St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan 20). However, for the case of man, sexual urge shows some deviance from the rational law. However, sexual urge may be given a character of law because of its penal consequences, and its relationship with loss of dignity in men. Aquinas uses the law of fomes in his justification of human celibacy as an original way of life. This law was originally meant for the conservation of species, and to serve for the common good of animals. On the other hand, the choice to go against celibacy by human beings is a reflection of their degeneration and sinful nature. This is because, human beings as leaders in the church should carry their own class, and the only way they can be distinguished from the rest is through choosing celibacy. Based on this law, Aquinas chose to paint human beings to be sinful because, they want to serve in the clergy at the same time adopt the lifestyles of the sinful (Lew 115). St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan (20), discusses the nature of the vice of lust and notes that the vice is related to physical gratification and pleasures that are venereal. His assertion was that venereal pleases causes a lot of harm to the human mind and is responsible for sexual sins such as prostitution. Excessive physical pleasure can also be realized through actions such as drinking alcoholic beverages. However, these acts cannot be conceptualized in terms of lust. Lust can also be perceived in terms of excessive desire for power and objects. According to Aquinas, a sinful act in relation to sex is an act that goes against the order of reason. Sexual acts should be for procreation purposes and preservation of human species. This means that not every sexual act is sinful. However, mans involvement in acts of prostitution and adultery amount to sin as asserted by Aquinas. This is in view of the fact that such acts are not guided by human reason and they in fact go in contravention of the order of reasoning. As humans beings engage in sexual acts for physical gratification, they exceed the rational limits of sexual intercourse. From another perspective, Aquinas considers aversion of sexual please as sin (St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan 22). On aversion of sexual roles Aquinas seems to be in agreement with the sentiments of Aristotle by arguing that when human beings decide not to pay the marriage debt, they commit sin. This is an opposite of the sin of lust and is common amongst women. Men on the other hand are more inclined to pleasure and would not commit this sin (Lew 114). Aquinas also expresses his sentiments on sins such as fornication and how they go against the divine law (St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan 17). He uses the Old testament to argue how the sinful nature of human beings. For Aquinas, the Old Testament has forbidden acts of consorting with whores and terms them to be mortal sins. By getting involved in such sins, humans fall short of Gods grace and risk facing spiritual death. In relation to prostitution and fornication, Aquinas mentions that their offspring’s are greatly injured by the sinners. This is because child upbringing is supposed to be done by two parents. When people engage in fornication and prostitution, the arising child may get nourishment from the mother, but may lack guidance from the father because of their physical separation. These sins create indiscriminate unions that does not provide for the needs of the child. Humanity can only be preserved, if the offspring receives the necessary care. Caring for the children is of great importance for the good of the society both from an economic and political point of view as emphasized by Aquinas. Fornication and prostitution go against human nature laws that recognize determinate sexual unions between men and women. Those who engage in the sins therefore are considered to be rebellious to the natural law. Unions resulting from sinful acts such as fornication and prostitution are not determinate, and not based on human matrimonial law. On the issue of determinate unions, Aquinas sentiment reflects the sins that have become very common in the human race (St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan 19). These sins do not contribute towards human preservation and go against the teachings in the Old Testament. Gaps in human law have created avenues for so many sins as depicted by Aquinas. In the civil statutes that concern virtue and vice there are limitations that create loopholes for sin. The fact that human law is more subjective leaves so many sins unpunished. Vices such as fornication and prostitution cannot be controlled by human law, and they continue to reflect the sinful nature of human beings. For St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan (18), politics are immoral and sinful because they also go against the natural law. This is depicted by the excessive desire by politicians to influence and control other people instead of working for the good of everyone. All politicians are humans and are subject to human law. They are supposed to be obedient to human law in order to safeguard the interests of everyone. However, this is not always the case as most politicians engage in self seeking behaviors at the expense of the masses. Aquinas therefore uses his human law philosophy to reflect how politicians are immoral in their practices and how they rebel against the laws of natural justice. Machiavelli tends to agree with Aquinas on the issue of politicians and power in the society. Machiavelli pointed out that politics, viewed from a Christian perspective is naturally immoral. It is therefore impossible to separate between politics and morality, but it is possible to separate politics from Christian morality (Harvey 67). Machiavelli asserted that religion is very important in shaping virtues such as obedience and morality amongst the citizens. For the politicians who are the rulers, religion is also a very important aspect of their life. Just like Aquinas, Machiavelli emphasized that religion is necessary for the state and should never be eradicated for the maintenance of law and order. The mildness in Christianity has resulted in the sinful nature of human beings as demonstrated by Machiavelli and Aquinas. They two were in agreement that the art of politics and warfare are analogous. Politicians break the laws of the land such as the natural laws of Aquinas and they evade punishment because of the mild nature of Christianity. War as a profession, demands the use of dishonest means to gains power and control over others. Use of corruption and violence is typical in politics where politicians compete unfavorably to control states. Politicians who engage in warfare can never be judged to be good as maintained by Aquinas and Machiavelli. This is because such leaders try to gain usefulness by using vices such as deceit, corruption and violence, and these do not make them good. By virtue of politicians using deception, violence and corruption they go against the teachings of Christianity and the general laws. Their behavior is also a reflection of how sinful human beings are in relation to their behavior to gain power and control (Harvey 67). In conclusion, the philosophy of Aquinas provides a good reflection of the sinful nature of humans. Politics make the human law to be very subjective, and this creates room for sins. According to Aquinas, politicians can engage in sins such as deceit, corruption and violence because the human law is inadequate. Religion is also mild and fails to control sins such as fornication and prostitution that are very common. Works Cited Harvey C Mansfied. Machiavellies virtue. New York: University of Chicago Press, 1998.Print Lew Jiwhang. “Thomas Aquinas view on the nature of sin”. Web 4 Mar 2014< http://philinst.snu.ac.kr/thought/21/005.pdf > St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan, R.J. Treatise on Law: Summa Theologica, Books I-II, QQ 90-97. USA: Hackett Publishing, 1949. Print. Read More